Michael van Gerwen has withdrawn from the Nordic Darts Masters in Denmark.
Fellow Premier League star Chris Dobey will replace the three-time world champion at the event, which will take place on Friday and Saturday.
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Van Gerwen’s withdrawal comes as no surprise given he revealed he would not play in ‘upcoming tournaments’ following the sad news he had split with his wife, Daphne, of 11 years in May.
“I am sorry to disappoint my fans, but I trust they will understand my decision,” Van Gerwen said in the statement.
“We are facing a difficult time and ask everyone to respect our privacy during this challenging period.”
Van Gerwen and Daphne have been together for 17 years, having begun dating in 2008 before tying the knot in 2014.
They have two children together, a daughter Zoe, 7, and son Mike, 5.
News of Van Gerwen’s separation from Daphne came as he pulled out of the Dutch Darts Championship.
The announcement also arrived after the former world champion failed to quality for the Premier League Darts play-offs, with his opponent Nathan Aspinall admitting Van Gerwen ‘didn’t look himself’.
It marked just the second time in Van Gerwen’s glittering career he didn’t make it to the Premier League play-offs from the 13 times he has competed in the tournament.
The Dutchman has won the Premier League an impressive seven times, the most in history and one more than Phil Taylor managed.
He also has won at least one ranked televised event each year from 2012 to 2022 with the exception of 2021.
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It’s why the fact he has not won a PDC ranked televised event since November 2022 all the more alarming, with two-time major winner Colin Lloyd claiming the Dutchman’s ‘race is run’.
As for the Nordic Darts Masters, Gerwyn Price goes into the event as the defending champion having beaten Rob Cross in last year’s final.
Joining Price and Dobey in the field from the PDC’s big names are Littler, Aspinall, Cross, Luke Humphries, Stephen Bunting and Jonny Clayton.
As for the Nordic and Baltic contingent, they will be represented by Madars Razma, Benjamin Reus, Jeffrey de Graaf, Cor Dekker, Oskar Lukasiak, Viktor Tingstrom, Andreas Harrysoon and Darius Labanauskas.
There is also some intrigue to the seedings for the event as Bunting, Cross, Price and Littler are seeded first, second, third and fourth respectively.
That’s because the event is seeded based on the PDC’s World Series Order of Merit.
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Only two of the seven World Series events have taken place this year, with those being in Bahrain and the Netherlands.
Bunting took out the Bahrain Masters in January with a 8-4 win over Price in the final.
The Liverpudlian followed that up with a run to the final at the Dutch Masters later that month but was beaten 8-5 by Cross at the final hurdle.
Following the Nordic Masters, the World Series then heads to New York City on June 27.
Winners at every World Series event will take home a tidy £30,000, with the runner-up to receive £16,000.
2025 Nordic Darts Masters – first round matches
Chris Dobey v Jeffrey de Graaf
Gerwyn Price (3) v Cor Dekker
Rob Cross (2) v Andreas Harrysson
Luke Humphries v Madars Razma
Nathan Aspinall v Benjamin Reus
Luke Littler (4) v Viktor Tingstrom
Stephen Bunting (1) v Oskar Lukasiak
Jonny Clayton v Darius Labanauskas
Matches are best of 11 legs
